Archive for the ‘Press Releases’ Category

New routes to Clark, between New York and Milan and a new A380 service to Brisbane
*Release includes video of a JFK landing from a pilot’s perspective*

Karachi/ DUBAI,.2nd October 2013 – Emirates’ expansion reaches new heights today with the launch of flights to Clark in the Philippines, the inauguration of a route between Milan and New York, and a brand new A380 service to Brisbane – all on the same day in four different continents.

First to take off from Dubai International at 0440hrs this morning was EK 338, a Boeing 777-200LR, bound for Clark International in the Philippines.

This was followed by EK 205, pushing back at 0905hrs for Milan, where the Boeing 777-300ER stops before embarking on a brand new transatlantic connection to New York. Click here to see the video of a JFK landing from a pilot’s perspective.

Next in line was EK 434, departing Dubai at 1025hrs for the airline’s latest A380 destination, Brisbane.

Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline, said: “Today is an extremely significant day for our network – we are connecting two great cities across the Atlantic, opening an important new gateway into the Philippines, which helps link Filipino communities across the world, and our magnificent flagship aircraft will quietly descend into yet another destination.”

“These multiple activities embody the scale of our growth, the increasing reach of our network and the role we play in connecting people, minds and cultures as Emirates navigates a path to becoming a top global lifestyle brand,” said Mr Clark.

Clark will be Emirates’ second gateway into the Philippines after Manila. The airport is located 80 kilometres north of the capital, in Angeles City. With a catchment area of 17 million people, the region is poised to become a new tourism and commercial hub. The flight will also help connect the sizeable Filipino communities around the world.

Emirates already serves New York and Milan. The new service addresses an underserved transatlantic link between the two commercially vibrant cities, both in terms of non-stop flights and a premium product offering. Through agreements with JetBlue in the U.S and with Easyjet in Europe, customers can easily connect onto flights serving the U.S via New York and Europe via Milan. With the Milan-New York connection, Emirates becomes triple daily into New York, home to the largest Italian community in America.

Brisbane becomes Emirates’ 22nd A380 destination. Emirates will be the only airline flying a scheduled double-decker into Brisbane, a fitting development to mark the 10th anniversary of services to the state of Queensland. When the A380 leaves Brisbane and continues to Auckland, an Emirates’ A380 “hotspot” will be created. Auckland will become the only place on the Emirates’ network, outside of Dubai, where three of the airline’s A380s can be seen on the ground at the same time; EK 434 from Brisbane, EK 412 from Sydney and EK 406 from Melbourne.

After launching Warsaw, Algiers, Tokyo Haneda and Stockholm so far in 2013, the airline is preparing for the start of services to Conakry in Guinea, Sialkot in Pakistan, Kabul, Kiev, Taipei and Boston in the coming months.

Emirates flight EK205 will depart Dubai at 0905hrs, arriving in Milan at 1350hrs. The flight will then depart Milan at 1600hrs and arrive in New York at 1900hrs the same day. The return journey on flight EK206 will depart New York at 2220hrs, which lands in Milan at 1215hrs the following day before departing for Dubai at 1400hrs, arriving in Dubai at 2205hrs.

Brisbane:

Emirates’ non-stop EK 434 service leaves Dubai at 1025hrs and arrives in Brisbane the next day at 0605hrs before departing Brisbane at 0750hrs and arriving in Auckland at 1415hrs. On its return journey, EK 435 departs Auckland at 1830hrs arriving in Brisbane at 1915hrs before departing Brisbane at 2100hrs arriving in Dubai at 0520hrs the next day.

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Islamabad, October 03, 2013: Ufone, a leading telecom company and leader in novelty, has introduced Super Buddy service which enables the subscribers of Uth Pack to add Friends &Family (F&F) by pressing just one button. This special service is specifically designed to cater to the needs of the youth where apart from the user friendly process, the pricing model is also very unique.

This exclusive and first of its kind package is said to be an easier type ofF&Fwhich is quitewell-liked among the youth. Even after the popularity of F&F, many subscribers find it difficult to use the service to its maximum potential. The reason is identified to be the cumbersome process of its activation and use. Through Super Buddy service both caller and receiver will get free calls

Akbar Khan, Chief Marketing Officer at Ufone stated, “Ufone strives to provide flexible and convenient solutions to its customers and ensures that the services are not only unique but of high quality. We introduced Uth Pack keeping in mind the needs and wants of today’s youngsters. Now we have introduced super buddy to further reaffirm our commitment to the future i.e. the youth. We care about their choices and want to deliver excellence to them.”

Ufone Super buddy concept provides aninnovativesolution where Party A and Party B both will become a Super Buddy of each other if any of them presses ‘#’ while dialing the number. The only condition is that both the parties have to be onUth Pack. Similarly, the second innovation added to this service is that the FB interface will just be like the F&F interface allowing the customers to modify their super buddy.

Unlike other youth brands, Uth Pack focuses primarily on affinity partners which is an offering far above all other competitors, the addition of the super buddy offer to the large discounts already being offered with a number of business partners is clear proof of the promise made to the youth of the country.

Uth Pack is the next step in the digital revolution andis designed to cater to the needs of today’s youth. When the youth wants to have fun, they pump up the volume, shift into top gear and party like there’s no tomorrow, but when they need to rise to the occasion, they get down to work and contribute meaningfully to society and can show the world the very meaning of responsibility.

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Karachi: October 08, 2013:Coca-Cola Pakistan has announced a donation of PKR 10 million to provide immediate earthquake relief goods to people of Baluchistan. The earthquake, hitting the remote villages of Baluchistan and affecting the districts of Awaran, Kech, Gwadar, Panjgur, Chaghi and Khuzdar, has caused great damage to the province. The event has struck as a national catastrophe and calls for assistance from its responsible citizens. Coca-Cola, being no different, has announced to donate PKR 10 million for immediate earthquake relief.

The relief goods mainly constitute staple food items such as rice, wheat, lentils, oil, milk, sugar, tea and salt and other seasoning products. These will be distributed among the families in Baluchistan that have been severely affected.

Expressing his views, Rizwan U. Khan, Country Manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan Region, Coca-Cola said, “The loss of precious human life in the recent earthquake in Baluchistan has been shattering. Times like these make it imperative for responsible citizens to unite for the sake of humanity and help their brethren in such an hour of need. It is our duty to make sure that all the possible assistance is given to those affected by this disaster”

John Seward, General Manager of Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited, expresses deep sorrow over the incident: “Pakistan is going through an immensely difficult time given the internal unrest in the country and now the very unfortunate earthquake in Baluchistan. The affected families are in dire need of help and it is our responsibility to make sure their pain and sufferings are minimized.”

The Coca-Cola System takes its corporate social responsibility extremely seriously and remains amongst the first companies to respond to the nation’s call in the hour of need. As part of its relief and rehabilitation efforts in 2010-11, the Company alone donated over PKR 103 million for flood victims across the nation.

Coca-Cola has invested significantly in the areas of community development, thus establishing itself as one of the most respected Companies in Pakistan. It has invested extensively in its CSR initiatives which cover a diverse range of sectors such as, Education, Healthcare, Women Empowerment and Environment.

Faiq Sadiq, Head of Payment Services at HBL added, “This partnership with Shell is one way HBL is looking to strengthen its ATM network and position as the largest ATM provider and banking industry leader in Pakistan. The deployment of our ATM’s at Shell’s fuel stations is part of our commitment to providing convenient, efficient and alternate banking services to our customers. We strongly value this alliance with Shell and look forward to strengthening it further.”

Commenting on the new initiative, Mazhar-ud-Deen, General Manager for Shell Pakistan’s Retail Business, said, “This will enhance the one-stop customer experience at Shell stations across the country. Customers will now be able to access comprehensive ATM services around the clock, all at one location. We hope to augment our cooperation with HBL and provide customers with the convenience and services they want.”

Both HBL & Shell Pakistan plan to enhance their partnership in other areas of common interest

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Karachi,October 09, 2013 : Byco Terminal Pakistan Limited and Coastal Refinery Limited, operators of the first and only Single Point Mooring in the country, have signed an agreement with MEKE A.S., of Turkey for coverage of Tier 3 oil spill eventuality. By doing so, Byco Terminal Pakistan Limited and Coastal Refinery Limited have become the 1st oil installation facilities in Pakistan to have acquired membership of an international oil spill response organization.

Byco’s deep sea Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility was commissioned on December 26, 2012. The Byco Single Point Mooring has a capacity of 100,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) with 28-inch, 14 km pipeline that connects it to the onshore Byco oil refining complexes.

Presently, due to draft limitations at Karachi Port and Port Qasim, smaller parcel sizes of petroleum products are being imported.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Imran Farookhi, CEO, Byco Terminal Pakistan Limited said, “With acquisition of the membership, the Byco deep-sea Single Point Mooring has met all the requirements set by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, as well as international maritime safety organizations, for going into commercial operations.”

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KARACHI, October 11, 2013 – Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited, the largest insurance provider in the private sector, is associated with the game of snooker since year 2008 through sponsoring various events held by Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA). The most recent one, Jubilee Insurance 3rd Ranking Snooker Championship, produced the top ranking cueist of the country, Shahid Aftab. Aftab will be making his international debut during the 2013 IBSF World Snooker Championship to be staged in Latvia, in November.

Talking about promoting the sport, Mr. Javed Ahmed, CEO & Managing Director of Jubilee Life said, “Jubilee Life believes that it is our social responsibility to promote the young talent of Pakistan especially in the game of snooker that has produced world champions. Such championships are vital for our players to bring out their talent and we are delighted to be associated with the sport of snooker. We look forward to see them represent our country at the global level as well.”

The PBSA President, Mr. Alamgir Shaikh, appreciating Jubilee Insurance’s effort to promote this game said, “Jubilee Insurance has been a great supporter of snooker since so many years which not only encourages us to promote the Pakistani talent in snooker but also boosts the morale of our players. We look forward for their continued support in order to provide exposure to our young players on both national and international level.”
Many new players are putting in great determination and efforts in this game and showing their class. In these times, snooker and PBSA is highly relying upon sponsors like Jubilee Insurance to help them push new talent forward. “Snooker needs more exposure and greater opportunities as a game as there is a lot of talent in the country who needs to come up front and Jubilee Life will always provide support to snooker. Some players like, Mohammed Asif, has performed tremendously well and are the pride of this nation. We expect them to play equally good at international level and challenge world-class players,” said Mr. Tahir Ahmed, CEO & Managing Director Jubilee General.

Snooker is one of the oldest indoor games in Pakistan, generating many talented players every year. It’s one of the most played games in Pakistan, every street even the most remote area, has a club of its own. Snooker is not just simply a pool of balls to be hit by a stick for no reason. It requires not just physical effort but a lot of mental effort also goes in making it a stressful game for its players. Despite that, Pakistan ranks second amongst Asian countries in snooker. Over the past few years, snooker has generated world class players such as Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Yousuf and Saleh Mohammed.

Jubilee Insurance is a global brand of Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) that offers diverse insurance solutions (life, health and general) in the Asian and East African markets. Jubilee Life in Pakistan offers uniquely designed range of life and health insurance plans, catering to various customer segments and needs. These include retirement, child education, marriage, saving & protection, wealth accumulation, insurance plans for women, rural insurance plans and life and health insurance solutions for the less privileged of our country.

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Karachi / DUBAI, – 23rd October 2013 – Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, has bolstered its position as a leading global player in air cargo industry by winning the ‘Overall Carrier of the Year’ award at the Payload Asia Awards 2013.

The award was accepted by Noryate Bte Abdul Rahman, Emirates Cargo Manager, Singapore, on behalf of Emirates SkyCargo, at a gala dinner which took place on the side lines of the Air Cargo & Logistics Asia 2013 Conference & Exhibition held in Singapore, a biennial trade event for the air cargo, logistics and e-Commerce industry.

“We are honoured to have been named Overall Carrier of the Year and would like to thank the readers, many of whom are our customers, for voting for us,” said Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo. “This award not only recognises the excellence of our operations, but also the commitment and support from our teams throughout our global network.”

Emirates was presented the accolade after being shortlisted by a panel of judges, and being voted the best in the category by Payload Asia readers. Criteria for the award included the carrier’s network coverage and development strategy, operational performance in 2012, customer service and product innovations, as well as market leadership, responsiveness and adaptability.

Emirates’ 206-strong fleet, one of the youngest in the skies, serves 135 destinations in 76 countries on six continents. Emirates SkyCargo operates 12 freighters (two Boeing 747-400 ERFs and 10 777Fs). Scheduled freighter services now operate to 43 destinations around the world.

In the 2012-13 financial year, Emirates SkyCargo carried 2.1 million tonnes of cargo across its network, contributing 15 per cent – US$ 2.8 billion – of the airline’s total transport revenue.

Testament to its policy of excellence in every area of operation, SkyCargo has in recent times been presented with a number of prestigious industry awards. These include, ‘Cargo Airline of the Year 2013’ (Air Cargo Week), ‘Cargo Airline of the Year 2013’, ‘Best Middle East Cargo Airline’ (both Air Cargo News), ‘Best Air Cargo Carrier Middle East’ (AFSCA), ‘Cargo Operator of the Year’ (SCATA) and ‘Air Cargo Excellence Award’ (Air Cargo World).

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Karachi, October 24, 2013: Renowned mountaineer Mirza Ali today delivered an impassioned talk entitled No Mountain Too High, at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), to an enrapt audience that had packed the auditorium of the Suleman Dawood School of Business. The talk was the inaugural lecture of EMPOWER – The Coca-Cola Lecture Series, an innovative programme launched by Coca-Cola to provide university level youth of the country extra-curricular learning through inspirational talks delivered by experts in various fields.

“EMPOWER is our latest CSR initiative that seeks to understand the issues our youth is facing, especially those relating to their personality development and career path, and provide the youth with expert guidance through a series of thought-provoking talks, by people who have overcome tough challenges to achieve heights in their respective fields,” stated Rizwan U. Khan, General Manager, The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The opening talk in the EMPOWER series by Mirza Ali was appropriately titled No Mountain Too High, indicating that in life each one of us has his or her own mountain to climb. The ascent is sometimes quite effortless, sometimes arduous, and sometimes seemingly impossible. Mirza Ali spoke passionately about his own life experiences and how he overpowered myriad challenges and the unexpected to achieve the goals he had set for himself. He ascended his first peak at the age of just 16 and then went on to climb some of the highest and toughest mountains in the northern areas of Pakistan.

Mirza Ali’s ultimate triumph came when as the mentor, friend and elder brother of Samina Baig, he succeeded in guiding her to become the first Pakistani woman to conquer Mount Everest in May this year. He accompanied her all the way on this historic journey, stopping just short of the final summit itself, to allow Samina climb on top of the world by herself, in a powerful message for women empowerment.

The opening talk of the Coca-Cola EMPOWER programme at LUMS by Mirza Ali will now be followed by regular talks at several other leading universities across the country, covering topics such as marketing, HR, CSR and self-discovery. The talks will be delivered both by senior executives of Coca-Cola and by external subject specialists, engaged by Coca-Cola for the programme.

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Karachi October 28 2013: The Board of Directors of HBL in its meeting held on 25 October 2013 reviewed the performance of the Group and approved the financial statements for the nine months ended 30 September 2013.

The Board of Directors of HBL has declared second interim dividend of Rs.2 per share for the year ending 31 December 2013, making total dividend of Rs.6 for the nine months ended 30 September 2013.

The profit after tax for the quarter July – September 2013 at Rs.6.2 billion was up by 14.3% compared to previous quarter April – June 2013. The improvement in profitability during the quarter July – September 2013 was possible mainly due to increase in net interest income by Rs. 1.1 billion or 8.5% on account of increase in deposits and change in deposit mix. Increase in Non-Interest Income by Rs.0.6 billion or 15.8% also contributed towards improved profitability during the quarter July – September 2013. The pre-tax and after tax profit of HBL for the nine months ended 30 September 2013 was Rs.25.1 billion and Rs.16.7 billion respectively as against Rs.28.1 billion and Rs.17.4 billion respectively in the corresponding period last year.

The earning per share after tax was Rs.12.43 for the nine months ended 30 September 2013 as against Rs.12.92 in the corresponding period last year.

The deposit of HBL as on 30 September 2013 stood at Rs.1268 billion showing growth of 4.4% compared to 31 December 2012. The CASA of HBL improved to 74.3% as on 30 September 2013 as against 67% as on 31 December 2012. The Capital Adequacy Ratio was maintained above 15% as on 30 September 2013.

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Karachi /DUBAI, October 29, 2013 Emirates expects to fly 70 million passengers in 2020, and the airline together with its partners in Dubai are already progressing on plans to ensure the right infrastructure are in place to support and capitalise on this growth.

These plans were unveiled by Emirates Airline President Tim Clark yesterday at a presentation to delegates of Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), who were visiting the UAE to make their final decision on the host city for the World Expo 2020. Dubai is a candidate city.

“By 2020, we will have more than 250 aircraft serving some 70 million passengers across six continents. It will make us the largest airline on the planet by international passenger traffic,” said Mr Clark.

He added: “However, being the biggest airline in the world is not really the end goal. Our aim has always been to connect travellers from around the world to Dubai, and other destinations with just a single stop via our hub. The strategic location of Dubai makes it possible for us to serve almost 90% of the world’s population with non-stop flights, for example our 16-hour Dubai to Houston service on the Boeing 777-300ER, or our 14-hour Dubai to Sydney flight with the Airbus A380. Our location is a key advantage. The leaders of Dubai recognised this from the onset, and that is why Emirates is investing in the most advanced long-haul aircraft, and why Dubai has invested over the years to develop its infrastructure for international commerce and tourism.”

A catalyst for globalisation

Over a third of the world’s population lives within a 4-hour flight from Dubai, and two-thirds are within an 8-hour flight. Today, Emirates operates nearly 3,200 flights globally per week to 135 destinations in 76 countries. Since January 2012, it has launched new services to 20 destinations, adding air transport connections that will benefit trade and tourism to Dubai and beyond. Before year end, it will start services to Conakry (27 October), Sialkot (5 November) and Kabul (4 December).

“Having the right equipment is important to our business model, but equally key to the mix is having the right ‘software’ – people and culture. With 50,000 staff from over 160 nationalities, Emirates is one of the largest multicultural organisations in the world. What this means is that we have people with a truly global mindset, who thrive in a fast-paced complex world, and are ready to embrace differences to bring the best ideas to the table. This is important if we want to be successful as a global connector and global enabler for travel, business and culture,” said Mr Clark.

Ready for the future

Emirates is currently the largest operator of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s, with an order book for 53 and 64 more of each aircraft type respectively. By 2020, it will have over 250 aircraft in its all-wide body fleet.

“We plan for the long-term and these plans include working closely with our stakeholders in Dubai including Dubai Airports and the GCAA amongst others, to make sure the right infrastructure is in place to support our planned fleet and traffic growth. We collaborate on every aspect of operations, from technical things like air space and stand operations, to the customer experience such as terminal facilities and efficient processing at check-in. It is a partnership, guided by a clear and steady leadership that recognises aviation as a key economic driver, espouses open competition, and fosters a consensus-based approach to investment,” said Mr Clark.

Visitor and traffic growth at Dubai International airport has grown tremendously in the past decade, with international passenger numbers virtually doubling from 24.8 million in 2005 to 47.2 million in 2010. Last year, the airport handled 57 million passengers from 225 destinations, travelling in on more than 140 airlines including Emirates.

In 2020, Dubai expects to welcome over 20 million visitors and airport infrastructure has been gearing up to meet this demand. It opened Terminal 3 dedicated to Emirates’ operations in 2008, and recently opened a new Concourse A for Emirates’ A380 operations. Emirates is the only airline in the world today that operates an A380 dedicated terminal.

Work is also underway at Dubai International airport on a Concourse D to expand handling capability for the other airlines operating international flights, due for completion in 2015.

Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central (DWC), which started freighter operations in June 2013, will welcome its first passenger flights on 27 October. Emirates is constructing a new home for its freighter operations at DWC with a cargo terminal and supporting infrastructure, scheduled for completion in May 2014. By the mid-2020s, Al Maktoum International Airport will have the capacity to handle 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo.